jewels07

We have a private car transfer booked after our cruise to take us into the centre of Rome. Are these cars/taxis allowed into the port area so we can just load our luggage straight into the car, or do we have to meet them at the entrance to the port?

I understand it's about an hour to Rome central, so should we book the car about 10 am to avoid any rush hour traffic?

Iglu Cruises gives a photo and some info:

http://www.icruise.com/cabins/celebrity-cruises-celebrity-reflection-cabin-2109.html

Trust me, I tried, didn't even reach the reserve on ebay....

Seriously tho, we have a website in the UK called "park on my drive". Used it at Southampton and it cost £24 plus a £4 taxi fare to the port, vs £98 to park at the ship.

It snowed here in the UK earlier this week, we had at least half a centimetre. Trains were delayed, people advised not to leave home unless necessary and sales of scarves and gloves escalated....

Reports of panic buying of electric heaters, kettles, snow shovels and extra blankets were unrealised.

;)

Hlitner, we booked an aft port side A2 on Eastern Med in May for exactly that reason, cabins overhead, and less overhang, away from the elevators.

Will let you all know in mid-june if it was the right decision!

I wouldn't bother changing anything into Turkish lira, just about everywhere in Turkey accepts Euros (or English pounds if you have any).

I've so enjoyed reading these posts!

Reminds me of our first cruise (7 days Norwegian Fjords from Southampton) and since there were no flights involved and therefore no weight limits, I took a full size suitcase plus a holdall just for shoes and toiletries.

My Other Half spent the entire week asking ladies how many shoes they had packed. He was shocked that I packed 10 pairs for 7 days. Personally I couldn't see his problem!

By all means feel free to smoke on the balcony next to mine, just as long as you don't mind if I fart onto yours.....

P&O also do 2 formal nights on a 7 night cruise.

Another endorsement for Hotter shoes. I have 5 or 6 pairs in different colours and styles and they are soooo comfortable.

So much so that I often forget to take them off when I get home. The other nice thing is that you can remove the insoles and wash them to freshen them up.

Thanks for that, Essiesmom. That info does not show on the UK site. I know that the airport tax is about £200 for us both, so the TA is definitely overcharging us massively.

We have multi trip travel insurance and they asked for all the policy details when we booked, so it's not an add-on for that.

How can I find out what the port taxes should be for my cruise?

My TA just says they total £711 including airport tax. That means almost £500 for port taxes in the Eastern med for a 10 day cruise...that's GBP, NOT dollars!

Seems excessive to me, but they can't/won't give me a breakdown of how much they are.

Love the effect, but the one drawback I found is that if you get any water in your eyes (shower, pool etc) your eyes sting until they dry out.

I made sure I got quality lashes too (silk or human hair individual ones), and I can only think it's something to do with the glue they use.

Would I have them again? Probably yes for a special occasion, but wouldn't have them done continuously.

Jewels

I blame you entirely for my lack of sleep last night, found your med review at 9 pm and just had to stay up until 1.30 am to read it all, imagine my delight when I saw your honeymoon cruise report this afternoon!

You two are indeed a beautiful couple, and Ashley, I LOVE the way you include so much detail.

Snails: I remember the first time I had snails, at the age of 19 at dinner with my then boyfriend. Loved them, until I got woken by my Mum in the middle of the night. she thought there had been a gas leak and I was unconscious! (we never used garlic back then).

Just booked the Eastern Med cruise on Reflection for late May next year, and really looking forward to it. Have copied a lot of your tour ideas from the ports we will visit for future reference.

Keep up the good work, and Congratulations on your wedding, I thought you looked absolutely stunning.

...brings to mind the cartoon with Miss Piggy and Kermit asking the Cat in the Hat "Have you seen our son, he's gone missing?"

I retired on 31 dec, and boarded a plane that evening to New Zealand. Having a fantastic time here, and still another 10 days of holiday left!

So far I'm loving it....

The best thought is that after I get home, there's no rush to do laundry and get sorted for another working week!

18 weeks, 4 and a bit working days. Started counting at around 15 months before, when a colleague retired.

Plan to start my retirement in style, I retire officially on 31 December, and at 10 pm that night I fly out, business class to New Zealand for a family wedding.

Plan to celebrate my retirement and New Years simultaneously at the bar on the Emirates A380, drinking champagne!

If you gotta do it, do it in style!

Eat at 6 pm or earlier? Surely that's a time for Afternoon Tea, not dinner? Lol (sorry, the Brit in me speaking), we never eat before 8pm here.

In the UK only old people eat before 6 pm....

Amen to so many of the posters here!

What do I do differently? I fly business on longhaul (over 10 hours) whenever I can, at the very least Prem Economy.

I look for hotels that are small and friendly/boutique rather than huge global brands (unless my points get me a free stay!)

I pack only what I feel good in, and don't care about dress codes - unless I want to!

Wear comfy shoes!

Love the poster that said elastic waist pants! Amen to that too

Take travel wash and half the underwear, especially on long trips. The only time that failed me was on a month-long trip to aus after 4 days of one nighters...I had to go BUY some knickers!

Travel with someone that doesn't care what you look like first thing in the morning - or travel alone.

Thanks Ginny, will take a look at it!

So it looks like FAL is out of the question, $150 (plus tip) on top of the cost of the luau is way too much. Shame.

So we are stuck with either attending one in Oahu the night before we sail on POA or the ships excursion on Kuaui (which doesn't get great reviews).

Anyone have an idea?

Don't really want to rent a car since we will be making the most of the inclusive bar....

I really like the sound of this luau (table service, not buffet), and since we will probably only visit Hawaii once (it's 17 hours of flights from here) it's what I'd choose.

Problem: I have no idea how far the port (for Pride of America) is from the Luau, or how best to get there and back.

I think the luau is in Lahaina, and we dock in Kahului. Does anyone know the best way to get to/from there, or how much approx. a taxi would be?

One option is to take the shuttle bus to Lahaina in the early afternoon, then go to the luau, and worry about making our own way back in the evening, but are there taxis available, or should we pre-book one?

Not many Brits on this forum, so I'll add my pennyworth...

I retire (officially) on 6 Jan 2014 (age 61 and 11 months)...according to the Government here who decided to raise the retirement age for females from 60 to 65 a while ago. I fall into the 5 year birth range that pro-rates retirement!

Fortunately I had the good sense to marry a man 12 years younger than me, so with luck and a following wind, he might be able to keep me in the luxury I would like to become accustomed to.

Having saved into retirement funds all my working life, the recent financial crisis has just about halved my retirement fund, but I have plans....

My company has recently decided that everyone in my role (Training Consultant) is to be home-based following a restructure, so I want to convert our integral garage into an office, with a future use as a cake decorating studio. Love making and decorating cakes, so hopefully I can make some pin money from that!